SC 5th Congressional District: What to know about Democrat Evangeline Hundley
Editor’s Note: The Herald has reached out to all three candidates and has not yet heard back from Gaither.
Democrat Evangeline Hundley is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman in the 2022 midterm elections for South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District seat.
Hundley, from Newberry, came out on top in the state’s June primary. Hundley, a real estate agent, beat challenger Kevin Eckert, a former biological science technician from Sumter.
Larry Gaither, a member of the Green Party, also is vying for the seat. Gaither is from Winnsboro.
Norman, from Rock Hill, succeeded then-U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney. The Republican incumbent won the seat in a 2017 special election after Mulvaney joined former President Donald Trump’s administration.
Earlier this year, South Carolina’s congressional districts lines were redrawn as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process. The 5th District, which largely maintained the same boundaries as the previous map, includes York, Lancaster, Chester, Cherokee, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Union counties, and parts of Spartanburg and Sumter counties.
On Nov. 8, polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Between Oct. 24 and Nov. 5, any South Carolina voter can visit an early voting location in their county and cast a ballot ahead of Election Day. Voters can find early voting sites online at scvotes.gov.
The Herald asked all three South Carolina 5th Congressional District candidates the same four questions.
Here are Hundley’s responses:
What are you committed to accomplishing during your congressional term?
I am committed to ensuring the working-class people of South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District are healthier, wealthier and wiser. I will advocate for opening the Medicaid exchanges, vote to secure Medicare and work to pass health care for all.
I will vote for the protection of voting rights and women’s rights. This means that I will vote to codify Roe v. Wade and to pass the Right to Vote Act, and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
South Carolina’s current minimum wage is still $7.25 per hour. A living wage in South Carolina should be $17+ per hour. I will vote yes to raising the minimum wage to at least $15 per hour, securing Social Security, offering paid family leave and making the childcare tax credit permanent. I will vote to support our teachers in and out of the classrooms and advocate for universal pre-K and free public college.
What would you have done differently to try to salvage the failed Panthers-Rock Hill project?
Everything that I could have done to make it happen.
This loss was a major disappointment to the people living here and the businesses located here. The Panthers-Rock Hill project would have been a nice boost to our economy and tourism here in Rock Hill, S.C.
The first thing that comes to mind for me as the 5th Congressional District Representative would be to get fully educated on the issue. Then, I would seek to find a monetary solution in partnership with the city, county, state and federal office and stakeholders. For my role, this would include seeking to utilize funding from the $6 billion infrastructure money that is allocated for South Carolina’s infrastructure projects that my opponent Ralph Norman voted against.
Do you believe the 2020 election was fairly decided by voters?
Yes. In 2020, the American people went to the polls and exercised their right to vote. And as usual, when all the votes were counted (and in some cases, recounted numerous times), the winners were clear.
Free and fair elections are the bedrock of our democracy. I’m just disgusted that the very people who claim to want “voter integrity” are the ones who commit voter fraud.
The state Senate recently failed to pass a near-total abortion ban. Do you think South Carolina should pass legislation that would restrict abortion access beyond its current six week ban?
Abortion is not a political issue. The fact remains that abortion, just as all medical procedures, should be discussed and determined between a woman and her medical professional and not by legislation, laws and bans.
